AR 608-99: Legal addresses support, custody, paternity

Legal Assistance Office

Soldiers are required to provide adequate financial support to their Family members when they are physically separated.

Army Regulation 608-99 details the financial support requirements for Soldiers with dependents, including whether a Soldier is required to pay support, how much a Soldier must pay and if a Soldier qualifies for a release from the obligation to pay. Although a Soldier might have stepchildren listed as dependents in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, stepchildren who have not been adopted by the Soldier are not considered dependents for purposes of providing Family support under this regulation.

AR 608-99 applies only in the absence of a court order or a financial support agreement between the parties. Once AR 608-99 is triggered, whether a Soldier must pay support depends on the Soldier’s individual circumstances. For instance, the regulation generally exempts a Soldier from paying support if the Soldier is part of a dual-military Family, his dependents reside in government housing or he provides in-kind support in the form of rent, mortgage or essential utility payments. Additionally, the regulation employs a pro-rata payment scheme, accordingly, where and with whom a Soldier’s dependents live can change the distribution of the support payment. The Army uses a chart based on rank, updated yearly, to determine how much support a Soldier must pay per month to his or her dependents. This chart is based on a non-locality basic allowance for housing rate, which means that it does not consider the actual BAH a Soldier receives, or even whether a Soldier receives BAH at all.

For example, the monthly support requirement for a specialist is $768.

If a Soldier has three dependents — a spouse and two children, each dependent may be entitled to one-third of the support requirement. However, if the Soldier’s two children live with the Soldier, the Soldier must pay only one-third of the monthly support requirement to the spouse, or $256.30. If, however, one child moves in with the spouse, the Soldier now must pay two-thirds of the support requirement, or $512.60.

A Soldier generally cannot be released from the support obligation to his children, but AR 608-99 has two provisions for releasing a Soldier from the support obligation to a spouse. First, paragraph 2-14 recognizes several specific situations that allow a battalion commander to release a Soldier from paying support. Second, paragraph 2-15 allows a special court-martial convening authority to release a Soldier on the basis of fundamental fairness, but this argument requires substantial factual support. No matter the circumstances, however, a Soldier cannot stop paying support until the Soldier is properly released.

Soldiers who believe AR 608-99 may apply to them should read the regulation which provides more details and guidance on several other related issues. A video divorce briefing addressing common AR 608-99 concerns is available at the Fort Carson Legal Assistance Office Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Thursdays at 2 p.m. Soldiers can schedule an appointment to address specific questions with an attorney by calling 526-5572/5573 or visiting the Legal Assistance Office.